Cotton-gin.



8.1. WAKEFIELD. conoN em.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-25. 19H" Patented May 21, L918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

gwuanroz dliuzuc S. I. WAKEFIELD.

COTTON em.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- 25. l9l1- Patented May 21,1918.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

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UNETED PATEB SAMUEL J'. WAKEFIELD, OF ABBEVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

COTTON-GIN.

Application filed January 25, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL J. WAKEFIELD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Abbeville, county of Abbeville, State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Grins, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cotton gins of the type which is adapted to act on the cotton as it comes from the field without previous ginning and has particular reference to means for properly presenting the cotton to the saws of the gin after it has been fed into the breast of the gin above the saws. It consists in means for maintaining a uniform rotating roll of cotton in the breast of the gin and for positively rotating such roll at that speed which will enable the saws to act in removing the lint from the seed most effectively, rapidly and with the least possible cutting or tearing of the fiber of the cotton. It embodies the use of an impeller in the breast of the gin and means for positively turning it at the desired speed whereby the roll of cotton carried and impelled thereby will so reach the saws as to secure the best results. Thenovel features of my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawings.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a cross section through the breast of the gin showing my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a machine embodying the invention showing the means for driving the parts; and a Fig. 4 is an end elevation showing the driving means.

I am aware that impellers have been used in the breasts of machines used for delinting cotton seed which has previously been ginned and that impellers have been proposed in treating motes and trash having some lint adhering to them but I do not believe that impellers have been used in the breasts of gins adapted. and intended to gin cotton in its natural condition as it comes from the field. In the case of previously ginned seed. which is to be delinted and in the case of motes and trash there is very little fiber'compared to the size and weight of the mass and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1918.

Serial No. 144,437.

it is so short that the saw teeth cannot get suificient hold on it to exert any real pull in the direction of turning the roll of material. In that case, therefore, the movement of the saw teeth will not be sufficient to turn the roll in order to present other parts of the mass to the action of the saws and it is necessary to have positive means for rotating the roll so that the saws may do their work. In the case of cotton in its normal condition, however the fiber is so long and thick that the saw teeth may get a good hold on the roll to turn it and the thick interlocking fiber makes the entire roll rotate under the influence of the saws engaging the surface at one point. It has not only not been con sidcred necessary to positively rotate the roll in ginning ordinary cotton but on the contrary if the suggestion were made to a cot-' ton ginner of doing so it would strike him naturally and spontaneously that the idea was a foolish one and would prevent proper ginning. It has always been assumed that the roll of cotton should resist the turning movement which the saws tend to impart so as to give the resistance necessary to enable the saws to cut or tear the lint from the seed in the roll and the ginner would regard it as more reasonable to retard the rotation of the roll rather than to accelerate it. I have discovered, however, that the use of an impeller for turning the roll at a greater speed than that at which the saws would turn it accomplishes very remarkable results not only in improving the character of the lint produced but in increasing the speed at which the cotton can be ginned. I find that the fiber of the lint taken of? by the saws is much better and longer, not being torn or cut and this adds greatly to its value. I find further that a single gin can delint about twice as much cotton in a given time where the roll is positively turned. according to my invention, than where the saws turn the roll.

My invention involves not merely the use of an impeller for turning and controlling the roll of cotton but the particular arrange ment of the impeller in the breast with ref erence to the saws. I find that the location of the impeller in the breast makes a remarkable diiference in the operation and that the best results are secured when it is not located in the center but nearer to the saws than to the front of the breast as shown in Fig. 1. With the impeller located near the saws the result is that the side. of the roll of cotton next to. the saws is in a sense compressed and is thus presented to the saws in compact condition. This seems to enable the saws to do their work With greater ease and more efficiently. Whatever the reason may be I have found it to be a fact that this location ofthe impeller produces remarkably improved results. It Will be notedfrom the arrangement shown in the vdrawing that the roll of cotton Will be compressed'at that'part where it leaves the saws after the saws have cut into it. find that this compression of the roll next to. the saws does not tend to break the roll but that on the contrary the use of the impeller prevents the breaking of the roll.

I find that in the .ordinary operation of a gin where the saws make 400 revolutions per minute, the rollturned'by those saws makes about GOor. revolutions per minute. Sew eral inches of the periphery of the saw blades project into the roll of cotton and I belieye that the first of the teeth in the projecting portion. catch and remove the available lint' and that the succeeding teeth striking the adjacent mass do nothing except harm and that they tend to break and tear the lint. That lint which is caught by a tooth i carried through a greatermass of cotton in the roll than would. be the case. if the roll were positively turned and the lint is therefore injured by such. contact with the mass, According to my invention, the saws need not enter the roll of cotton sofar as iscuston ary in the gins Where the saws turn the ol andthis fur her se e o ss the strain on the lint and to decrease cutting and tearing it. In actual operation I find it. ajdvantageousto gear or connect my,i1n DQ 18 1 ins ch W y that the ro l of. cott n ll urn a a peed. ome atle s ha n -ha h speed. of he saws.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention but, it will be understood that the idea is applicableto various typesof gins which are now in use and in which the saW teeth now turn the roll of cotton. Inthe dra-Wings I have shown diagrammatically the casing or main frainelfi of a, gin, and embodied. in it I, have shown the saw. cylinder 11 and. the usual brush cylinder 12. The periphery of the sawsprojects through the vertical ribs 1.3-into the openspaceliin the breast of the gin. 15 represents the front wall of the breast. of the gin and ii will-be understood that, the breast is pivoted. or hinged. at the top so that it. canbe raised in the usual Way to furnish access to thesaws. Cotton as. it comesfroui the field is fed into the breast of the gin through the openings 16 at the top by any suitable feeding means. The ginned seed falls through the opening 17 at the bottom of the breast and may be collected and carried away by any suitable means.

My impeller embodies an impeller shaft 18 extending longitudinally Within the breast of the gin parallel to the periphery of the saws and is mounted in suitable bearings at the ends of the breast. This shaft has projecting from it any suitable blades 19 for engaging and turning the roll of cotton. These blades preferably project to a point within about an inch of the periphery of the saw cylinder. The shaft 18 rotated positively by any suitable means but preferably from the main shaft which serves to drive the saws and other parts of the. gin. In Fig. 2 'hzwe shown a pulley 20 on the end of the shaft 18 Which may be driven by a belt or chain connection from the shaft above mentioned, As above stated the belt, gear or other drive connections Will preferably be so arranged as to give the impeller shaft a speed about half of that of the. saw cylinder. In Figs. 3 and at I have shown one arrangement by which the saw cylinder and the impeller may be driven at the proper relative speeds as above indicated. The main shaft 25 shown in these figures is, of course, driven from. any Suitable source of power. The wheel or pulley 26 on this main shaft drives the saw cylinder shaft. 27 through pulley 28 on the end thereof by means of the belt or chain 29. The relative speed at which the saw cylinder'is rotated is determined by the relativesizes of the pulleys26 and 28. The main shaft 25 also drives the counter shaft 30 through pulleys 31 and 32 and the connecting hain Orbelt 3. and n his n nc the'pulley 32 on the counter shaft is preferably made of larger diameter than the pulley 31 on the main shaft so that the counter shaft rotates at a less speed than. the main shaft. The counter shaft 3 0 is provided with, a. pulley 8e which through the belt or chain 35 drives the impeller shaft 18 through pulley 86- he belt. 3 may be ep au y a bel tightene r, any su t-able const u tion, tl at shown. consisting of. the roller 37 mounted between the ends of the hinged arms 38. l/Vith the driving connection of the kind indicated it Willofcourse be understood that. the impeller shaft, and, saw cylinder shaft may be giventhe desiredrelative speeds by properly porpontioningthe sizesof' the pulleys 2.6, 28,31,32, 34 midi-36. I also find-11b at it; isof, advantage to place at the ends of the shaft. 18 within thebreast of the gin. disks 21, 22 Whichare securedto and rotate witht-he shaft and-these disks may be mounted in circular recesses in the end plates. 1 23, 24 of the breast of, the gin. Sincethese of the breast. This tends to maintain the roll of cotton in proper uniform shape and to lessen the power required in driving the machine. I further find that my impeller as a whole tends to maintain the roll of cotton in proper shape and to prevent that breaking or bulging up of the roll which is quite'common in the case of gins where the saws drive the roll.

I find that by the use of my impeller the roll will be maintained in proper shape and will not break noma-tter how much or how little cotton is fed to it and that the seed will be ginned cleaner than if no impeller is used. There will furthermore be no loss of seed and the operator does not have to raise the breast of the gin in order to change from one bale of cotton to another. Frost bitten cotton and damp cotton, which is hard to gin where the saws turn the roll, can be ginned as rapidly and easily in my device as good dry cotton can be ginned in the ordinary gin. Another very important feature about my invention is that it prevents the cotton from accumulating and getting packed between the ribs Where the saws pass. This packing of the cotton against the sides of the saws where they go through the ribs causes such friction against the saws as to sometimes set the cotton on fire. By my contruction there is no such friction and no such danger of fire.

Having thus described the invention What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cotton gin adapted to operate upon previously unginned cotton the combination with a saw cylinder, of ribs through which the saws project, a roll box in front of said ribs to receive the cotton to be ginned, a rotary impeller in said roll box adapted to turn the roll of cotton therein with substantial uniformity throughout its length bringing successive peripheral portions of the cotton roll in contact with the projecting portions of the saws and means for positively rotating said saw cylinder and impeller at different speeds the driving connections being such as to rotate the impeller at a speed less than the speed of the saws but greater than the speed at which a normal roll of cotton would be rotated by the engagement of the saws.

2. In a cotton gin adapted to operate upon previously unginned cotton, the combination with a saw cylinder, of ribs through which the saws project, a roll box in front of said ribs to receive the cotton to be ginned. a rotary impeller shaft in the roll box provided with blades extending therefrom adapted to reach nearly to the periphery of the saws adapted to turn the roll of cotton therein bringing successive portions of the cotton roll in contact with the projecting portions of the saws and means for positively rotating said saw cylinder and. im-

peller at different speeds the driving connections being such as to rotate the impeller at a speed less than the speed of the saws but greater than the speed at which a normal roll of cotton would be rotated by the engagement of the saws.

In a cotton gin adapted to operate upon previously unginned cotton, the combination with a saw cylinder, of ribs through which the saws project, a roll box in front of said ribs to receive the cotton to be ginned, a rotary impeller in said roll box adapted to turn the roll of cotton therein uniformly from end to end bringing successive portions of the cotton roll in contact with the projecting portions of the saws, circular disks secured to and turning with said impeller at the ends of said roll box, and means for positively rotating said saw cylinder and impeller at different speeds the driving connections being such as to rotate the impeller at a speed less than the speed of the saws but greater than the speed at which a normal roll of cotton would be rotated by the engagement of the saws.

4-. In a cotton gin adapted to operate upon previously unginned cotton, the combination with a saw cylinder, of ribs through which the saws project, a roll box in front of said ribs to receive the cotton to be ginned, a rotary impeller in said roll box adapted to turn the roll of cotton therein bringing successive portions of the cotton roll in contact with the projecting portions of the saws, circular disks secured to and turning with said impeller at the ends of said roll box, the said disks fitting in circular recesses in the end walls of said roll box, and means for positively rotating said saw cylinder and impeller at difi'erent speeds the driving connections being such as to rotate the impeller at a speed less than the speed of the saws but greater than the speed at which a normal roll of cotton would be rotated by the engagement of the saws.

5. In a cotton gin adapted to operate upon previously unginned cotton the combination with a saw cylinder, of ribs through which the saws project, a roll box in front of said ribs to receive the cotton to be ginned, a rotary impeller in said roll box arranged out of center and on the side next to the saw adapted to turn the roll of cotton therein bringing successive portions of the cotton roll in contact with the projecting portions of the saws and means for positively rotating said saw cylinder and impeller at dif forent speeds the driving connections being such to rotate the impeller at a speed less than the speed of the saws but greater than the speed at which a normal roll of cotton would be rotated by the engagement of the saws.

6. In a cotton gin adapted to operate upon the saws project, a roll box in front of said ribs to receive the cotton to be ginned, a rotary impeller in said roll box at a higher level than said saws and arranged out of center on the side next to said saws adapted to turn the roll of cottontherein bringing successive portions of the cotton roll in contact With the projecting portions of the saws and compressing said roll at the point Where it is about to leave the saws and means for positively rotating said saw cylinder and impeller at different speeds the drivingconnections being such as to rotate the impeller at a speed less than the speed of the saws but greater than the speed at which a normal Copies of this patent may be obtained for roll of cotton would be rotated by the engagernent of the saws.

7. Ina cotton gin'adapted to operate upon i.

the saws aprojeot, airoll 'bo'xin front of said ribsto receive the cotton to be ginne'd, an impeller in said roll-box for positively engaging and rotating throughout its length a roll of cotton therein at a peripheral speed greater than that which would be given to a normal roll of cotton by the engagement of the moving saw teeth and for compressing that portion of the roll being engaged by the saws.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

SAMUEL J. WAKEFIELD.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

